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Luis Castillo

Heyman On Figgins, Pineiro, Braves

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SI's Jon Heyman reports from Chicago, where the GM Meetings are wrapping up…

  • The Phillies are "intent on pursuing Chone Figgins hard," while the Mets are also fans of the Seth Levinson client.  The Angels still hope to re-sign Figgins.  Joel Sherman of the New York Post has more on the Mets' interest, explaining that moving Luis Castillo would make signing Figgins easier.  Sherman thought another reasonable addition for the Mets might be Carlos Lee, but his idea was shot down by Ed Wade and a Mets official.
  • Heyman senses mixed signals with the Mets and Matt Holliday – Omar Minaya loves the player, but the money required will be huge and the Mets might be better-served spreading it around.
  • The Mets are interested in Joel Pineiro, and Minaya met with his agent Arn Tellem.
  • On Page 2 of the article, Heyman quotes a couple new Scott Boras gems.
  • Braves GM Frank Wren admitted he'll field offers on his starting pitching excess.  It appears inevitable that the Braves will trade one starter, Derek Lowe or Javier Vazquez according to MLB.com's Mark Bowman.
  • My Billy Wagner-Cubs idea should probably be put to bed, as Jim Hendry said he wouldn't spend a lot of money on a closer given Carlos Marmol's talent.  Marmol himself is due a large arbitration raise.

Milton Bradley Suitors

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Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune takes a look at the Milton Bradley situation in an article this morning.

Sullivan, like many, sees the Rangers as the favorite.  Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News looks at all the factors there.

Giants GM Brian Sabean was quizzed about a possible bad contract swap for Bradley, and shot down the idea.  The Mets and Rays appear in the mix to a certain extent, with Omar Minaya even admitting he'll talk to Jim Hendry about it.  Luis Castillo figures to be in that discussion, but Sullivan says reports suggest Mets ownership may be anti-Bradley.

ESPN's Bruce Levine adds more detail.  He says Hendry spent over an hour Monday with the Rays discussing a Bradley-Pat Burrell swap, with the $12MM salary difference a key.  A similar gap exists with Kevin Millwood, who Levine believes the Rangers would "gladly" swap for Bradley.  However, Levine says the Rangers will only take about $4MM of Bradley's contract at this point.

A few other notes from Sullivan: the Cubs remain fans of Marlon Byrd, who is now a free agent.  That interest suggests that the Cubs' "left-handed bat" obsession from a year ago has gone by the boards.  Sullivan also mentions that the Cubs "are in no hurry to open up talks with Derrek Lee on a contract extension."  Lee will earn $13MM in 2010 in the last year of his contract.

Bradley Being Discussed In Three-Way Deal

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9:01pm: The Chicago Tribune's Paul Sullivan is reporting that Toronto "wants no part of Milton Bradley." Meanwhile, Cubs GM Jim Hendry said that Chicago hasn't given up on Bradley, according to MLB.com's Scott Merkin. Of course, Hendry has to say that until the moment Bradley is traded.

5:55pm: A very interesting idea is being reported by Ken Rosenthal: a three-way deal, with Milton Bradley going to the Blue Jays, Luis Castillo to the Cubs, and Lyle Overbay to the Mets. Rosenthal said "The teams indeed have discussed the framework of such a deal, though not in direct fashion, according to major-league sources."

Breaking it down, the trade makes the most sense for the Mets, who would clear second base for long-coveted Orlando Hudson, a free agent. Overbay has also mashed righties for his entire career – .847 OPS career, .905 in 2009 – and could be paired with Daniel Murphy or Nick Evans for a high-reward platoon.

Castillo does block the movement of Ryan Theriot to second base when Starlin Castro arrives, but adding Castillo's on-base percentage would be a boon to the top of Chicago's lineup.

As for the Blue Jays, the deal would open up first base for Adam Lind, with Bradley slotting in as designated hitter. The question is: Overbay slugged .466 in 2009, while Bradley slugged just .397 – so is this an upgrade?

Fixing The Mets

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The New York Post's Joel Sherman offered up some suggestions for shaking things up in the Mets clubhouse this offseason.  He worries that Luis Castillo won't be able to replicate his strong 2009 and that Jeff Francoeur (.826 OPS with New York) may not be able to build on his solid second half.  Unsurprisingly, his chief concern is the Mets starting rotation.

However, Sherman suggests that the Mets first address their other holes before looking at starting pitchers, considering the weak crop available this winter:

"Put out strong one-year offers with a 2011 option to a group at each position. Say Rod Barajas/Bengie Molina/Miguel Olivo at catcher; Nick Johnson/Russ Branyan/Adam LaRoche at first: and Bobby Abreu, Mark DeRosa and Jermaine Dye for left field. The first guy to take the offer in each group gets the contract."

The Mets were linked to Bobby Abreu for some time last offseason, so it would make sense for them to re-visit that idea again this year.  Adam LaRoche looks like a completely different player in Atlanta, posting .354/.432/.618 with 12 HRs in 49 games.  Abreu projects to be a Type A free agent whereas LaRoche should be a Type B. 

Should the Mets address their pitching woes via free agency?  As badly as they need to bolster spots two through five, there won't be a great deal of options available.  Would you extend multi-year deals to the likes of Rich Harden or Joel Pineiro?  Should the Mets pick up where they left off last year and consider Randy Wolf?

Heyman’s Latest: Mets, D-Backs, Indians

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Jon Heyman takes a look at three teams that underachieved this season and how each might approach the off-season…

New York Mets

  • Heyman thinks the payroll will be about the same next season, noting that any attempt to lower the payroll would be a tough sell to the fans.
  • Needs include left fielder, first baseman, catcher, starting pitcher and overall depth.
  • Mets are looking at Matt Holliday and Jason Bay and could target Adrian Gonzalez and Bengie Molina.
  • Starting pitchers the Mets may pursue include Randy Wolf, Jon Garland and Jason Marquis as well as Roy Halladay if he's available.
  • Mets may try to move Luis Castillo and replace him with Orlando Hudson.

Arizona Diamondbacks

  • Heyman hears the D-Backs will try to sign Brandon Webb to a new deal at slightly less than the $8.5MM option they have for next season.
  • The D-Backs may try to re-sign Doug Davis, but that will still leave a couple of holes in the rotation.
  • Arizona may try to fill the second base job via trade. Heyman suggests that Eric Byrnes and Chris Snyder could be trade bait and feels Byrnes could be moved for Castillo.

Cleveland Indians

  • Heyman says the Indians need to replace Carl Pavano's ability to eat innings. 
  • The Victor Martinez and Cliff Lee deals saved the Indians $21MM, some of which could be used in free agency.

Other notes…

  • It looks like Andy Pettitte will reach most of the incentives in his contract, nearly doubling his base salary of $5.5MM.
  • Dan Uggla feels he will be traded this off-season and Heyman says the Marlins won't want to pay his arbitration figure.

Heyman’s Latest: Jeter, Wagner, Delgado, Lackey

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No team is successful without good coaching and guidance, so SI.com's Jon Heyman pays homage to those who got the job done behind the scenes by naming his ten most unsung heroes of the 2009 season. Rangers' pitching coach Mike Maddux tops the list, and several other familiar names make an appearance.

Here's the rest of Heyman's rumors…

  • Heyman guesses that the Yankees will resign Derek Jeter for at least $60MM over three years once his contract expires after next season. That's a lot of scratch for a guy who would be entering his age-37 season.
  • The Red Sox have "every intention" of offering Billy Wagner arbitration, and barring something unexpected, Wagner has every intention of turning it down. He's projected to be a Type-A free agent, so Boston would walk away with two high draft picks in that scenario.
  • Out since early May with a hip injury, Carlos Delgado hasn't given up on the idea of playing again this year. The Mets would be happy to accomodate him, because according to Heyman's sources the team has thought about bringing him back on an incentive laden contract. A late season cameo would at least give them a look at what kind of shape he's in.
  • Stop me if you've heard this before: the Mets might consider Orlando Hudson this offseason if they can find a taker for Luis Castillo. That's what, three times in the last 24 hours?
  • The Angels tried to sign John Lackey for four years and $60MM last offseason. Given the lack of impact starting pitching available this year, Lackey's price has gone up.
  • In regards to Ken Griffey Jr. and his .214 AVG, Heyman says "this has to be the end, no?" Griffey hasn't said anything about his future yet, though.
  • Kansas City ownership has "often prevented its baseball people from making deadline trades in order to avoid the dreaded 100-loss season." This strategy probably works against them in the long run, but Heyman suggests it may "make them a tougher team than some also-rans who hit the wall."
  • There's no evidence that Lou Piniella is a candidate to be fired (his $4MM option for 2010 has already been picked up), but the question about whether he wants to return or not has to be asked. Sweet Lou's body language did not look good last weekend.

Odds & Ends: Castillo, Wagner, Pitching

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Some links to look through on the day Eric Munson returns to the big leagues…

  • Joel Sherman of The NY Post wonders if a Luis Castillo for Jeremy Bonderman or Nate Robertson deal makes sense. Placido Polanco will be a free agent after the season, and both pitchers are expendable to Detroit. Castillo is owed $12MM over the next two years, while Bonderman and Robertson will take in $12.5MM and $10MM, respectively, in the final season of their contracts next year.
  • Jon Heyman of SI.com tweets that the best possibilities for Billy Wagner next year are the Braves, Astros, Cubs, Tigers, and maybe even the Nationals.
  • In a piece at ESPN, Baseball Prospectus' Shawn Hoffman looks at who could be the best pitching bargains of the offseason. Carl Pavano, Erik Bedard, and John Smoltz might be the best of the lot. You need Insider to read the article, but it comes recommended.

Odds & Ends: Mets, Reds, Byrd

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We link, you decide…

  • Jon Heyman of SI.com tweets that the Mets might try to trade the incumbent Luis Castillo this offseason, and look at free agent-to-be Orlando Hudson. I feel like we've heard this before. Castillo still has two years and $12MM left on his deal, so good luck trying to move him.
  • MLB.com's Mark Sheldon has some quotes from Reds manager Dusty Baker about wanting "dudes that drive in some runs and hopefully don't strikeout so much." Scott Rolen, the Reds big trade deadline pickup, has hit just .278/.360/.380 for Cincy.
  • Jeff Wilson of The Dallas Morning News writes that outfielder Marlon Byrd is healthy and hitting again. It comes at a good time for Byrd, who will be a free agent after the season.

Odds And Ends: Halladay, Yankees, Rangers

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Links for Tuesday morning…

Mets Agree To Terms With Alex Cora

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According to Ben Shpigel of the New York Times, the Mets have agreed to terms on a one-year, $2MM deal with veteran infielder Alex Cora.

Cora, 33, hit .270/.371/.349 in 152 at-bats for the Red Sox last season.  He’ll provide some insurance at second base in case Luis Castillo continues to struggle.  Cora has also played shortstop and third base in the past.

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